Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

senna

(Encyclopedia)senna, any plant of the genus Sennia (formerly placed in Cassia), leguminous herbs, shrubs, and trees of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), most common in warm regions. Some species are cultivated...

loran

(Encyclopedia)loran lôrˈănˌ [key], long-range, accurate radio navigational system used by a ship or aircraft to confirm or to determine its geographical position. The term loran is derived from the words long-r...

Shippen, William, Jr.

(Encyclopedia)Shippen, William, Jr., 1736–1808, American surgeon, b. Philadelphia, M.D. Edinburgh, 1761. A pioneer lecturer on anatomy and midwifery, he was instrumental in the organization (1765) at the College ...

balsam

(Encyclopedia)balsam bôlˈsəm [key], fragrant resin obtained from various trees. The true balsams are semisolid and insoluble in water, but they are soluble in alcohol and partly so in hydrocarbons. They contain ...

stun gun

(Encyclopedia)stun gun, hand-held electronic device that produces a high-voltage pulse that can immobilize a person for several minutes with no permanent damage in most cases. It is powered by ordinary batteries, w...

sweet pea

(Encyclopedia)sweet pea, annual climbing plant (Lathyrus odoratus) of the family Leguminosae (pulse family), a legume native to S Europe but, since its introduction to horticulture c.1700, widely cultivated for its...

Owen, Sir Richard

(Encyclopedia)Owen, Sir Richard, 1804–92, English zoologist and comparative anatomist. He studied medicine in Edinburgh and in 1827 joined the staff of the Hunterian museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, where...

Gross, Samuel David

(Encyclopedia)Gross, Samuel David, 1805–84, American surgeon, b. near Easton, Pa., M.D. Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, 1828. He taught at the medical colleges of several universities and at Jefferson fr...

Morgagni, Giovanni Battista

(Encyclopedia)Morgagni, Giovanni Battista jōvänˈnē bät–tēsˈtä mōrgäˈnyē [key], 1682–1771, Italian anatomist, called the founder of pathologic anatomy. He was professor of anatomy at Padua for 56 yea...

Rokitansky, Karl

(Encyclopedia)Rokitansky, Karl kärl rōkĭtänˈskē [key], 1804–78, Austrian pathologist, b. Bohemia. From 1834 to 1873 he taught pathological anatomy at the Univ. of Vienna. He performed over 30,000 autopsies ...